WipEout Dawn
by Queen Sydon
Summary: There are underdogs, and then there's Lhotus-Akkan. Up against the likes of Harimau and Qirex, nobody expects them to win, including the team themselves. But whose to say they can't have any fun losing?
1. A Ship Named Daisy

_AN: Hey all. Just thought I'd contribute something to a near-non existant fanfic base. I've always been a huge fan of WipEout, but have always longed for some sort of ongoing narrative to the game. Y'know, what goes on outside the track, and the people behind the craft. This is my attempt at something like that. And hopefully you'll get a kick out of it. Enjoy!_

**WipEout DAWN**

_A Ship named Daisy_

**VINETA-K **

**FLASH**

**UNLIMITED QUALIFIER**

**LAP 10 of 10**

First place.

_FIRST PLACE!_

This was the only thing looping over and over in Milli Norfairs' mind as she gunned the thruster through the checkpoint to the final lap of the race. Her craft, a teal-green FEISAR lookalike that was almost twice the size, was horribly damaged. Black scorch marks were burned into the left hull as purple sparks fizzled out and crackled angrily, like the ship itself was protesting having to continue on. The cockpit too was scarred with a large spiderweb crack on the front, obscuring most of the pilot's view. But despite the damage, the hulking craft powered forward with reckless abandon, now at the front of the pack, just hitting the first archway that curved inwards further to the finish line.

_I can do it. I can do it. There's no one in front of me. Just breathe, relax. Daisy's fine. She's had worse than this. Come on, Milli, just win this thing. Win it. Finally WIN it!_

It had happened about a minute and a half ago. As the laps for the race gradually ticked down, so did the patience and chivalry of the remaining participants. What had previously been clean passes and smooth cornering had given way to aggressive bow-charges and borderline-kamikaze cut-off turns. Weapons acquired were unleashed before the various AI voices of the crafts could utter the name. Racers would clash and jockey for position in the choking narrow turns. At lap 9 the carnage had reached its peak, seeing the racers cut down from 8 to just 3. This was when the Lhotus-Akkan craft piloted by the young Milli Norfair took first place. As the desperation had grown, the five leading racers had taken the first hairpin turn fresh into lap 9 at top speed...

...all at once. With the two at the back firing off a volley of six rockets at point-blank range right into the backs of the leading crafts.

What resulted was nothing short of disastrous.

The two leading craft took the full brunt of the salvo; the rockets piercing their already-depleted shields and shattering against their hulls, blasting their AG reactors apart in a searing azure explosion and sending the charred, mangled remains flipping end-over-end off the edge of the track.

The attackers had gotten too close--too personal. Neither had even half a second to manouver away as their crafts were engulfed by the twin explosions; ripping away their armor and throwing both completely off balance. As the two lost all power and plowed nose-first into the floor, kicking up a screeching fountain of sparks, the final victim blasted out of the flames behind them. The pilots' eyes bulged as his own craft smashed into the others, cleaning all three right off the track in a macabre tangle of flames and shrapnel. Well behind the destruction, the Lhotus-Akkan, previously in 6th place, shot by the burning wreckage, creating a swirling vortex of smoke and fire behind it.

Inside the cockpit, Milli's eyes went wide when the position counter at the top-left of her HUD quickly switched from 6 to 1. Taking a lightning-quick glance at the ladder, an elated smile crossed her features.

It read:

**LHOTUS-AKKAN: 1**

**BERKUT UNITED: 2**

**SATTAHRI: 3**

**HEIAN IND: DNF**

**IOLANTHE: DNF**

**KLF 14: DNF**

**CISCA FOUNDATION: DNF**

**5-0 FIFTY: DNF**

"_Unbelievable!_ The top 5 just bought it on turn number 4! You're in first place, Mil!" An ecstatic voice blared in Milli's helmet, that of her Chief Operator and best friend, Yuno Maeda. "It's the last lap too!"

Milli tried to reply, but her voice just caught in her throat. Her hands were trembling, her heart beating a thousand times a minute. Why? Why when it mattered most!

The Lhotus-Akkan veered slightly, taking a right-turn too sharply and scraping up against the wall briefly.

"No!" Milli yelled in frustration, her own voice helping her refocus. With a rough pull of the control stick she righted her craft and gunned the thruster once more, now only two left-hand turns away from the finish line.

"Woah, Mil! Slow it down a bit! The AGR's redlining! It must've been from that firestorm you pushed through! Shields are offline too!" Yuno peppered the good news one after the other.

Milli couldn't respond. Yuno's voice seemed droned and distant, like she was speaking underwater.

"You got three whole seconds on the Berkut! You've got to ease of the thrust and pump the coolant into Unit 4! Mil! Hey, Mil!"

Ease...off the thrust...unit 4...what?

Her vision blurred. The steady roar of her engine dulled in her ears, replaced by the panicked beating of her heart pounding in her eardrums. A shrill whine cut into her consciousness, making her head spin.

"Mil! Hard right! HARD RIGHT!"

She heard it, but her hands wouldn't move. They were glued to the control stick, numb, feeling like they didn't belong to her at all.

Then, a flash of dark purple engulfed the rear-end of her craft, violently lurching it upwards off the track. Milli felt her entire being shaken mercilessly in the tiny cockpit as her craft flipped crazily through the air. The towering glass buildings of Vineta K becoming an indistinguishable blur in her eyes.

There was a moment of silence. Milli thought she heard her name yelled out a few times, but nothing was registering anymore.

Finally, with a wrenching impact that shook her to the core, the Lhotus-Akkan smashed onto the track, regaining traction for a second before colliding with the wall that curved around the final turn of the race.

Something clicked in Milli's head, and without a further thought she engaged both air-brakes with all her strength, fighting grimly to keep her craft on the track.

The Lhotus-Akkan ricoteched off another wall, shaking terribly, its four rear thrusters skewed apart with a purple aura-like residue emanting from them like a vengeful ghost.

At last, the craft came to a halt, bumping harmlessly against the left wall of the straight.

She could see it; the finish line. No more than a tantilising two-hundred metres away. Almost on complete reflex, she hit the thrusters again, making her craft jump forward a little before crawling along at a pathetic pace, the control hud blaring out several overlapping errors and warnings.

As Milli's craft sputtered forward painfully, she felt her heart plummet when the two remaining racers Berkut United and Sattahri easily overtook her and powered over the finish line as the crowded stands erupted in jubilant cheers. A huge Vidboard on a building opposite the stands came to life, displaying the words: **WINNER! BERKUT UNITED.**__

Milli slumped in her seat, groaning sadly. Nobody in the crowd seemed to take notice as the battered teal-green craft limped pathetically over the finish line and went silent.

She blew it. She completely botched what could've been her first win; a win that would've easily qualified her team for the Unlimited League.

"Mil? Are you Ok?" Yuno's voice crackled in Milli's helmet. "You did it. You won 3rd place!"

Her voice took on a more encouraging tone. Milli felt a little better, after all, there was still one more race left in the qualifiers.

"Thanks, Yuno." Milli finally answered, earning a relieved sigh from the other end of the line.

"Hey, I'm bringing the recovery crew in now. Just sit tight."

Milli gave a curt 'hm' in response. As her racing heart finally started to slow, she glanced over at the Vidboard displaying Berkut United's logo. Pulling her helmet off and resting it on her lap, Milli Norfair scratched her light-brown hair tied in a simple ponytail, her eyes of the same colour fixed irritatedly the Vidboard, before she heaved a sigh and hung her head in dejection; uttering a single word.

"Crap."


	2. The One in Everything

_AN: Big thanks to the only guy to read and leave a review, MWDarigan. And to all WipEout fans, enjoy!_

X

_The One In Everything_

X

**POST RACE**

**WINNER: BERKUT UNITED**

**NEXT RACE: 3 H 13 minutes. **

**TRACK: TO BE DISCLOSED**

**S-CLASS: TO BE DISCLOSED**

With the roar of the crowd humming deep through the walls of Pit No.4, the wrecked and battered Lhotus-Akkan sat quietly amongst an array of hi-tech but still outdated mechanized tools and other junk. Every crack and sparkle of azure energy lit the bare grey walls of the hanger for fractions of a second at a time. Milli Norfair, still dressed in her faded green racing overalls with the an indistinguishable logo on the back, was seated on an upturned munitions crate; swaying her legs playfully over the edge whilst she took ginger sips from a silver can of Liverpool Cola. Her chief engineer, Yuno Maeda, a 26-year old girl from Osaka 2 with noir black hair in a bobcut trim and pine-green eyes was in the seat of the Akkan; flipping switches with earnest and slamming the occasional balled-fist onto the console. A HTV mounted on the wall of the hanger was playing back the highlights of the previous race. The five-craft collision had replayed about four times already, and if the sound wasn't muted, Yuno and Milli would've heard the commentator ranking it as one of the worst crashes in a qualifying event. There were no casualties, as was nearly always the case since refined and near-unbreakable cockpit designs had become mandatory. It was actually common to see a craft blast apart in an explosion to only leave the scorched but intact cockpit amongst the wreckage.

Another silent replay appeared on the screen. It showed the Akkan flying in a dead-straight line as a plasma bolt chased it down effortlessly before connecting and throwing the craft in the air. Milli watched the spectacle solemnly, before Yuno piped up suddenly, taking Milli's eyes off the screen.

'Load of shit, if you ask me.' Yuno scowled, her eyes still studying the control panel before her. 'Daisy could've taken an Hiiten Missile, a 30 barrage of 50 cal, even a Quake Disruptor without losing control. But it just had to be a stupid Plasma Bolt.'

BANG! Another well-placed punch from Yuno fixes the flickering weapon gauge.

'Under----hwa!-----normal circumstances...' She continued, having ripped out some random instrument before tossing it carelessly over her shoulder. 'Daisy would shrug it off. But the fact that the AGR was _sticking out_ after that macho prick from Cisca Foundation fried the rear shielding with that Leech Beam, it was just unlucky.'

Unlucky.

A word that had sprung up its fair share of times when it came to evaluating Milli's piloting ability. To most, there was comfort to be found in such a word, but Milli was too stubborn to walk down that path. She'd seen it herself on the screen a few moments before. It had taken almost 1.7 seconds for that Plasma Bolt to smash into Daisy. Some might think that not enough time to react, but Milli knew better. She had known, but still couldn't do a bloody thing.

CRACK!! One more impact. Something beneath the plating audibly snapped and fell to the bottom of the hull with a deep clank.

'Hey, Mil.' Yuno said gently, craning her neck upwards to see over the rim. 'Stop it, ok?'

Milli's eyes widened. But of course, she was terrible at hiding her feelings. And Yuno understood her more than anyone. So she just smiled, but meant it.

Yuno grinned back before dissappearing into the cockpit again. A wrenching sound of metal screeched out from the hull shortly after. A second later, the left airbrake promptly popped out and puked out some neon-green fluid that splattered to the floor.

'There ya go! Cheeky bastard...' Yuno muttered.

'So how long?' Milli asked, hopping off the crate and stretching her arms out.

'About 22 minutes. I'll rig the repair drones and reboot the system. You should go relax for a bit.'

Milli nodded. 'Ok, see you later.'

A hand popped out from the cockpit briefly and waved goodbye.

With that, Milli left Pit No.4 as an array of hovering sphere-shaped repair drones started buzzing about the Lhotus-Akkan.

'That won't _fit_, jackass! Hand it over!' She heard Yuno scream at the drones.

Giggling to herself, Milli headed out the door.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The Omnileone, a gigantic hotel-slash-pilot keep, sat in the very middle of Inandantia City; acting as a hub to the various tracks that composed the qualifying segment of the Unlimited League; the largest so far event of its kind, due to its broad acceptance of any and all AG Teams...who qualified that is. Already, several of the big name teams had already secured a place in the huge event, one which was rumoured to have a reward payout of about 1,000,000,000 Credits, again the largest such thing ever.

Omnileone was really only a three-star hotel, somewhat bland but comfy. When events popped up, a few floors of the hotel were specifically reserved for AG pilots, their crew and miscellanous team members. It helped that the vast basement of the hotel was really a network of Hangars, Pit Bays, and pretty much everything else an AG Team would need. Conveniance was key. And since the qualifying races were only a few hours apart, it gave everyone ample time to prepare for whatever lay ahead of them.

On the 21st floor of the hotel was the cleverly named WipEout Bar; a haven for any and all AG personell to wind down and have something to drink. Every now and then, some of the brasher pilots would start talking big and generally piss everyone off, but luckily, since a race was just around the corner, they weren't allowed to serve any alcohol yet.

'Damn.' A male pilot wearing dull ashphalt-grey racing overalls muttered as he eyed the glass of pineapple soda in his hands annoyingly. He had an incredibly ordinary physique, clean but unremarkable features hidden beneath a sky-blue Taidan Arms cap, and just generally attracted almost no attention.

His name was Lars Richtofen. 22 years young. One and only pilot of the brand-new but still third-party team Ghost Original.

Ghost...

That's what some people called him. Granted it was a cool sounding name, but not in the context of what it implied: That he had almost no prescence, able to move around without catching anyone's attention without even trying on _and _off the track.

Grumbling again as he sat on the swivel stool in front of the bar, with the cyborg barkeep naturally ignoring him, Lars looked about himself at all the other pilots and crew seated at random tables or just wandering aimlessly.

They were all buddy-buddy with each other, Lars thought drearily, watching two young pilots exchange lame jokes before belting out forced laughter.

But...he didn't hold it against them. It was mostly his fault, his nature to remain under the radar. Maybe it was just paranoia, but it was who he was.

He spotted someone, alone, sitting at a two person table at the far end of the room. A girl, who looked like she should've still been in high school, but her faded green racing suit said otherwise.

Compared to everyone else in the room, she stuck out like a sore thumb. As he thought this, some of the men would keenly eyeball her, exchanging possibly lewd comments with their friends. Female racers weren't really a rarity but that didn't stop people from taking notice.

She _was_ cute though. What with that pixie-like face and short black hair tied back in a ponytail...

'Woah.' Lars shook it off. He'd been staring at her, just like those other guys. One of which, to his horror, was sleazily shifting towards her; reeking of pompous arrogance.

Lars didn't think. He just abandoned his pineapple soda and quickly closed the distance, his heartbeat rising in tempo the closer he got.

He arrived just in time to hear the faux-sauve macho bleat out a weak pickup line.

'---flying for about three years. She's a beauty, but nothin compared to a little thing like you.'

The girl stared at the intruder, eyes almost bulging, her tiny mouth agape; like a kid who'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Lars made his move, cleanly, efficiently, and without any idea of what he was doing.

'Yo Stacy!' He greeted cheerily. Both she and the guy stared at him incredously as he took the vacant seat, as the guy had been lecherously leaning over on the table. 'I got here as fast as I could! It sure is crazy here nowadays, huh?'

The guy awkwardly shifted away, pretending like he had just been passing through. The girl was still staring at him though; the lemon soda can in her dusty gloved hands gripped tight.

A tense silence hung in the air. Whatever momentum Lars had before withered away under her unblinking stare. Feeling like a complete moron, Lars was about to leave quietly before....

'Thanks for that.'

She spoke! Her words shy but clear with a hint of silent determination.

Lars felt his body relax, the hot flush in his neck fading.

'Hey, no problem.' He smiled.

'Who are you?' She asked almost immediately, though the question itself was direct without being rude.

'I'm Lars. Lars Richtofen. I'm a uh---' He instinctively coughed, feeling his cheeks burn. That innocent glimmer in her eyes...it was too much, dammit! '---pilot for the...the ship underground.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'Huh?'

Real smooth.

'...Ghost Original. An AG Team.' Obviously.

She smiled a little. Lars was obscenely thankful that the bar was somewhat dim. He felt his face burn up like a red plasma bolt.

'My name's Milli Norfair. I'm a pilot too.' She introduced herself politely, raising her soda can. 'I fly the Lhotus-Akkan.'

Oh, he'd heard of that one. The race just before, she'd come in 3rd place. Lars recalled that a lucky shot had almost destroyed her craft, but had cost her the race.

'I saw you before, on the HTV. The Vineta-K Flash race, right? Man, that was just unlucky!' He laughed a little to himself.

Then, Milli Norfair's mood took a sharp 180 flip. Her now-darkened glare made the hairs on the back of Lars' neck stand on end.

'Nice meeting you.' She monotonously replied, avoiding his puzzled gaze, before turning on her heel and dissappearing through the exit. She'd left her drink.

What'd he do?

When a bout of laughter from around him embarassed him further, Lars knew this was one race he'd definately lost.

'Bye, Milli Norfair...' He sighed, hanging his head in defeat.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

As Milli stormed out of the bar in a huff, ignoring the surprised patrons she passed, her cellphone hummed to life in her pocket.

'Ho!' She yelped as she almost fumbled it to the floor, clumsily pressing the talk button.

Yuno shimmered to life on the screen, her face smeared with bluish gel. _'Mil! I got good news, bad news and news that's probably bad.'_

'Give me the good first.' Milli groaned.

_'The info for the next race is up on the Boards.' _

'Already!?' She exclaimed, turning around a sharp corner to come to a large HTV board on the wall by the main elevators. Several pilots were already there, crowded around it so she couldn't see it clearly. After gingerly shouldering her way through, she stood in front of the bright neon-purple screen as it displayed the information for the next race.

In brief, it read:

**UPCOMING RACE **

**NO.28 OF UNLIMITED QUALIFIER**

**TRACK: AMPHISEUM (REVERSE)**

**S-CLASS: SUPER-PHANTOM**

**TYPE: 40 LAP ENDURANCE**

**PARTICIPATING TEAMS ARE AS FOLLOWS BY GRID POSITION.**

**1. ICARAS**

**2. NEO LILIM**

**3. BELKAN-G**

**4. WAR-TALON**

**5. BERKUT UNITED**

**6. SATTAHRI**

**7. GHOST ORIGINAL**

**8. CISCA FOUNDATION**

**9. SHISHIGAMI YOMA**

**10. LHOTUS-AKKAN**

'No fair!' Milli yelled, drowned out by everyone elses collective outcry.

She'd raced in Phantom Class in the past, raced _horribly_. And now, a 40 lap Enduro in Super-Phantom?? On a Track she'd never raced on before?!

_'You've noticed the ship first on the grid, right?' _Yuno piped up, her voice loud enough to pierce through the other screaming pilots.

Milli looked over the info board again.

No...._no..._

Icaras. An A-Class Team, who had qualified and even _won _a few championships in the past, and piloted by none other than "Phantom" Adam McTavish, was competing.

The time left until the next race had just ticked over to 59 minutes...59 minutes left to live.

_'Mil. Daisy'll be ready for you soon. What're you gonna do?' _

Milli didn't know how to respond. So...

...she just screamed. Loud.

_'Mil!? You ok?!' _

She wasn't. But nothing was going to stop her.

'I'm ready to lose, Yuno.'

Her friend laughed over the line.

_'Sounds like a plan!'_

X

_AN: Race up next. Tune in._


	3. Slow Down!

_AN: Dedicated to all fans of WipEout, especially my partner-in-crime MWDarigan. Also, big thanks to the second reviewer ever SirKnight159. Here we go!_

_**XX**_

_**Slow Down!!**_

**_XX_**

It was quiet now. All Milli Norfair heard was the dull electronic buzz of her neon-blue HUD and control panel. The bright hue of atrificial light framed the tight cockpit she sat in, reflecting off the outer canopy in a warm haze.

She couldn't see anything outside as the shaft floodlights were turned off, but in a few moments, her craft would be raised upwards unto the track along with the other nine racers.

The silence was stifling. No amount of on-track mayhem compared to that sheer unhinged feeling of waiting in near-darkness. Though Milli was already scared out of her mind at the very thought of competing in a Super-Phantom Class race, part of her just wanted the torture to end so she could just race the damn thing.

Tapping her foot on the left airbrake incessantly and grumbling audibly, Milli almost slammed her head into the canopy when her craft lurched suddenly.

With a deep mechanical humming, the shaft walls on every side near-blurred as the Lhotus-Akkan shot upwards to the starting grid of the Amphiseum.

Milli craned her head upwards to see a speck of light in the distance, like a welcoming light from the gates of hell.

'I'm screwed.'

* * *

What was once pained silence _roared _into absolute jubilant cheers, as the Lhotus-Akkan rose into place behind the other racers. The crowds were beside themselves with excitement, throwing all manner of neon-confetti and streamers into the air, blanketing the starting grid in a streaming rainbow.

Milli just gaped at the reception. As far as she knew, it was still a preliminary race. The way it looked, it may as well have been a race to determine the greatest in the universe.

She scanned ahead of the track, taking in the opposing craft hovering ahead of her, most of them swaying impatiently or flaring their thrusters as a warning.

_'Remember the plan, Mil.'_ Yuno's voice chipped in. _'Hit the pitstop every 23 laps. If you think Daisy's going to fall apart, bring her in for a Flash Refill. K?' _

'Yeah...'

_'Just like we practiced.'_

'We practiced?'

Yuno laughed, but then sighed heavily.

_'This is just insane, Mil. Whose idea was it to have a Super-Phantom race? Remember that other time?' _

'Ugh.' Milli grunted in response. It had been a qualifying race for the Fury League about six months back. A ten-lap Phantom race that Mill recalled had been a highlight of her wondrous career, mostly because she had completely swerved off the track in the first lap; driving Daisy nose-first into several meters of snow.

'Damn Sebenco Climb. I couldn't go five seconds without crashing into something.'

_'You need to take your time. Get to the know the track.' _

'This IS is a race, Yuno.'

_'An endurance race. Plently of laps to catch up.' _

'Catch up? To Icaras' golden boy McTavish?'

_'Hah, like bringing a Predator Tank to a thumb war.' _

Chatting to Yuno, Milli almost forgot the crippling fear she had felt before. It wasn't until the giant Vidboard high above the starting grid came to life that Milli remembered what she was supposed to be doing. She tensed in her seat, sweat already itching her neck, gripping the control stick so hard that it rattled spastically despite being in lockdown until the race began.

Up on the Vidboard, the huge image of virtual idol Hatsune Miku danced onto the screen, flicking her hands about in a childish two-handed wave.

'Everyone Ready?' She squeeked in her helium-pitched engrish. The already excited crowd cheered ever louder, rising to their feet.

Miku raised her hand upwards, three fingers in the air.

'No, no, no, no...slow down...' Milli begged.

'Three!'

_'This is it, Mil!'_

'Two!'

Milli tightened her hold on the flight stick, if that was possible.

'ONE!'

Miku flashed a swooning wink, swinging her upstretched arm down.

'RACE!'

With a collective roar that completely drowned out the screaming crowds, the ten racers blasted off the mark in a multicolored blur.

And Milli Norfair couldn't even breathe.

* * *

**LAP 1 of 40**

Icaras shot ahead of the pack after only a few seconds into the race; the miniscule craft darting around the corners and turns like it was running on indefinite auto-pilot. Every other racer fell behind the first-class ship, but the incredible speeds wouldn't daunt them in racing for their own plight.

At least, most of them were.

'Woah! E-Easy!' Milli snapped at herself breathlessly, taking another sharp hairpin turn too quickly, smashing the Lhotus-Akkan against the adjacent wall in a gut-wrenching screech of metal.

'Ugh!'

She steered away from the wall, but hit the thruster too hard, painfully veering into the opposite side, kicking up another shower of sparks.

Milli could already feel her face burning in embarassment. How many people were laughing at her now? And just what the hell was she thinking? She knew her limits, and this by far exceeded them. Maybe she should just pit after this lap and make something up about engine troubles? Anything to save herself from this...

At this point, Milli couldn't even see the other racers. They were probably a whole lap ahead of her by now.

Feeling utterly miserable, she just navigated the ridiculous turns with her airbrakes engaged at maximum, even easing off the thruster completely when even that didn't stop her from bouncing off the track sides.

A sudden lurch of acceleration from an unseen speedpad almost forced Milli right off the track.

'Slow....DOWN!'

Both airbrakes steadied the Lhotus-Akkan in the middle of the track, coming to a near standstill. Then it took off again for a few seconds; its speed barely peaking as it sped up and down erratically.

Still she urged it forward, biting her bottom lip in frustration.

* * *

From a large repair shuttle hovering over the starting grid like a chunky grey rectangular box, Yuno watched the race play out uncomfortably from a flickering monitor amongst a dizzying number of lit-up buttons and controls.

'Don't let it get to you...' She sighed to herself, glancing at the monitor displaying the Lhotus-Akkan braking far too much around yet another corner. A different set of screens showed the other racers, most of them doing pretty bad themselves. Aside from the Icaras pulling further and further away, the rest would also slow down dramatically around turns, bumping into eachother messily.

One of the racers besides Icaras seemed to be doing quite well though; the white and grey craft resembling a next-gen Pirahna only sleeker and smaller, had already moved up three positions. Yuno had never heard of Ghost Original before, but the way it weaved amongst the other racers almost unnoticed was pretty impressive.

The ladder now read:

**1. ICARAS**

**2. WAR-TALON**

**3. BELKAN-G**

**4. GHOST ORIGINAL**

**5. NEO-LILIM**

**6. BERKUT UNITED**

**7. SATTAHRI**

**8. SHISHIGAMI YOMA**

**9. CISCA FOUNDATION**

**10. LHOTUS-AKKAN**

_'Yuno.'_ Milli's solemn voice crackled through unseen speakers.

'Hey, Mil.' She answered quickly through a mic looped around her ear. Trying to sound encouranging, Yuno replied: 'I can't believe you're actually doing it!'

_'Doing what exactly?' _Milli asked, deadpan. _'Look, this is embarassing, I'm going to...'_

'...Uhhhh, Mil?' Yuno called out worriedly when Milli hadn't said anything for nearly ten seconds.

Finally, Milli replied, her tone strangely invigorated.

_'I'm going to race this damn thing.'_

'Huh?'

* * *

**LAP 9 of 40**

Something strange happened as Milli charged forth through the Amphiseum. As she had almost resigned herself to pitting indefinitly, cresting the magneto-strip of the track, Mill happened upon something she had _not_ expected to see.

She never thought she'd be so happy to see the ugly torpedo-shaped blue fuselage of the Cisca Foundation ship just a few metres in front of her; swerving wildly all over the place.

It wasn't just the fact that she had caught up to the other racers that surprised her, but also how she somehow seemed to be coping fairly well in navigating the once-merciless turns.

_What's going on? _

The Lhotus-Akkan cut in on the inside around another turn, easily passing the Cisca, whom tried to grimly block the larger craft but bounced off pathetically and flew completely out of control.

Milli glanced at the rear-cam on her HUD for a second, feeling a slight pang of guilt as she watched the spinning craft slamming into the walls like a pinball before dissappearing from sight.

_'Ooooh, "Gommennasai"! So sorry!' _Yuno joked, laughing to herself.

'You're terrible!' Milli shot back, stifling a giggle.

The Lhotus-Akkan shot forward with renewed vigour, sweeping around the sharp right-hand turn that lead over the grid.. Hitting the brief straight, Milli saw most of the other craft cross the line en masse ahead. She'd actually caught up!

_'You're doing great!' _Yuno shouted excitedly as Milli shot past the starting line, finishing another lap of the race.

Milli was still hyperventilating, still struggling to slow down the frenzied beating of her heart. But despite this, she found herself steering Daisy across the track without slamming the craft around every turn. Was she...actually getting used to this?

Whatever was going on, the race wasn't over. And the black and yellow tiger-striped Shishigami Yoma craft ahead of her wasn't keen on letting her pass.

Milli tried cutting in on the inside around a tight bend, but the Yoma blocked her viciously, pecking the front hull of the Lhotus at an angle that nearly forced Milli into a wall.

'H-hey!!'

_'Take him!'_

Milli tried again, taking the inside. Predictably the Yoma swerved in to block her, only this time Milli side-shifted right before it connected, _smashing _the other craft's rear end. The Yoma fishtailed spastically, crashing into a wall nose-first at an angle that flipped the entire craft over the railing and completely off the track.

'Woah! Is he Ok?' Milli asked, sincerely worried. She had only wanted to pass him, but the fact that Daisy was about three times heavier than the standard AG craft must've slipped her mind.

_'A recovery teams' already lifting it back onto the track. The race is over for him though. They're still about two minutes away. But don't worry about that, stay focused, Mil.' _

She was focused. Her worry of the Yoma's wellbeing already vanished, as another craft that she recognized was darting left and right about thirty metres in front. The Sattahri, a sky-blue pint-sized craft that Milli had tangled with before. It's mobilty was impressive, well over twice the amount Daisy had. But lacking in one crucial stat.

Another turn into the straight before the starting line, Milli hit the thruster to max, hitting top-speed in half a second.

Naturally, the Lhotus-Akkan _roared _by the Sattahri, who didn't bother trying to block the mammoth craft lest he be cleaned off the track. As the first set of sharp turns arrived, the Sattahri sliced its way around the corners, quickly catching up to the Lhotus.

_'Sattahri's closing in! Watch it!' _

'I see him.'

The two craft took each turn one after the other, but the Sattahri's lighter frame ensured that it closed the distance after each one; eventually ending up side-by-side. All it took was one more sharp turn for the Sattahri to retake its position, zipping in from the outside.

Milli had anticipated this. That last turn lead up to the straight once more, so Milli gunned the thrust right out of it, flipping the giant craft so that it rode the adjacent wall at maximum speed!

The Sattahri's pilot just watched in disbelief when the Lhotus-Akkan blasted around the bend and flew right over his craft, landing hard on the straight _in front of him_.

_'Hit it!'_

The Lhotus-Akkan's four rear thrusters flared up, surging it across the straight to take up a commanding lead on the opposition.

'Catch up from that!' Milli yelled, surprised at herself.

_'Eh? What was that?' _

'Um, n-nothing.'

Nothing. Not a damn thing was going to stop Milli from finishing the race. Except...

* * *

**LAP 17 of 40 **

**Weapons Activated**

'What? No!' Milli yelled in disbelief.

As she had driven the Lhotus-Akkan across the line, her control panel had bleated out that weapon pads on the track had just been turned on.

'Can they do that?'

_'I-I'm not sure...lemme see... uhhh...' _

Weapons were and always had been the worst opposition Daisy ever had to deal with. Time and time again, with the Vineta K race earlier that day being the earliest example, weapons had literally destroyed her chances of winning. Milli couldn't help it if she chose to absorb a rocket barrage instead of blasting a racer with it. Unfortunately, everyone else wasn't shy about broadsiding the Daisy's massive hull. At times, it felt like she was being singled out on the track. Was it the shoddy paint job or what?

Her HUD beeped, distracting her frustrations for a moment.

'QUAKE.'

Milli was silent. Yuno gasped over the line.

'Hey, Yuno.'

_'...Yup?'_

'I'm tired of losing.'

With that, she hit the trigger.

* * *

A hail of bullets ripped out of the barrels under the Ghost's nose, strafing the walls around the brown camouflage pattern of the Belkan-G; an offshoot of the Australian Triakis, only made in New Zealand.

'Damn!' Lars cursed, hitting the airbrakes hard. He had tried to cut in on the Belkans' flight path around a narrow turn, hoping to hit it with enough rounds to disorient the craft. But he had missed every single shot, as well as swerving awkwardly due to the recoil of the weapon. In short, he wasn't going to pass this guy, as his last futile attempt gave the Belkan enough of a lead to exit missile range.

The other racers hadn't been much trouble at all, since they had barely noticed him passing through. But Belkan-G and War-Talon were in a class of their own, much like Icaras. To Lars, at least, it seemed like the two were working together. They didn't fire upon eachother, and would blanket the track with mines on occasion. It wasn't illegal by any means, but that didn't stop it from pissing him off.

'SHIELD'

Ghost didn't need the extra energy, so he just activated it, the shimmering honeycomb of energy wrapping around his craft a second later.

Suddenly, Lars felt a deep tremor shaking him to the core. Glancing quickly at the rear camera, Lars saw a seismic rapture tearing its way down the track like a wave of fire.

'AAGH!!'

The Quake hit, shattering the Ghost's extra shield in a burst of multicoloured energy. Luckily, the primary shields hadn't been hit so the Ghost lost no momentum from the attack.

Belkan-G and War-Talon weren't so fortunate as the Quake hit them flush around a bend, smashing them both into a wall.

The pilots of the craft swore and argued with each other, as the Ghost Original silently bypassed them unnoticed.

* * *

**LAP 23 of 40**

_'Time to pit, Mil'_

Milli engaged both airbrakes, coming to a complete stop underneath Yuno's repair shuttle hovering over the starting grid. The varied shuttles of the other teams waited side by side for their respective teams, save the ones who had pitted before, namely Icaras, Ghost Original, War-Talon, and Belkan-G.

Once in place, Milli almost lost her breakfast when the AG magnets lifted Daisy off the track and latched onto the repair shuttle. Several robotic arms and repair drones went to work; replacing torn armor plates, recharging the shields, and refuelling the AG reactor via a thick hose that snapped into place underneath the Lhotus-Akkan's hull.

After all repairs were completed, the Lhotus-Akkan was released from the shuttle, falling quickly onto the track where it shot off the mark; replenished and ready.

Milli was ecstatic. The last few laps before pitting had been tough, as Daisy's traction and speed both diminished dramatically. The last few turns had been especially hellish, with Daisy's already abysmal handling becoming near-unbearable. But now, with Daisy flying at its peak, Milli felt a new wave of energy burning though her veins.

Which was why it came as an absolute shock when a missile tore its way towards her.

From the _front._ Milli swerved in desperation; the missile shooting past her craft, only for _another _missile to zone in from ahead of her.

No time to dodge, no time to blink.

The weapon hit. Hard.

Milli screamed as she completely lost control, the g-forces throwing her body around roughly from her seat; the constraints keeping her in place but digging into her painfully.

The Lhotus-Akkan crashed, flipping onto its cockpit and sliding down the track upside down, slamming into a wall so hard that its shielding just evaporated on contact, instead cracking apart the crafts' armour on impact.

Milli's vision blurred red. Distant voices playing in her head. The roar of AG engines passing her by.

_'......il! H---.....ey!' _

I can't.

_'Mil! Please! Say something!' _

Why?

_'MILLI!' _

Why can't I finish?

* * *

Yuno was beside herself. Every second that Milli's voice remained absent from Yuno's earpiece, her sick worry grew.

'Milli! Just hang in there, I'm coming to---'

_'Wait...'_

Yuno gasped, already out of breath. She didn't know wether to be relieved or furious.

'Mil! D-Don't do that! I am SO going to kick you for this! Sheesh!'

_'...I'm fine...by the way...' _

'....I'm sorry, Mil. Look, just wait there for me and---'

_'I'm not done yet.' _

'Huh?!'

Yuno noticed something from the corner of her eye. One of the monitors that tracked Daisy's progress unbelievably displayed the craft already flipping itself over using its auxiliary thrusters.

'Mil! It's all redlining! You'll have to pit again just to keep going!'

The pit stop before should've been the only one Daisy needed. Pitting twice would mean giving the other racers an unchallenged lead.

_'I'll see you soon then. Will you be ready?' _

Yuno couldn't believe it. Milli was serious!

'Yeah, I'll prep the system again. But what're you going to do?'

A pause. The sound of Daisy's AG reactor roared to life over the speakers.

_'I am NOT going to finish last!'_


	4. No Chance to Lose

_AN: Time for this again, eh? Enjoy everybody. And thanks to all who have reviewed. May the next WipEout game arrive sooner than we hope._

_Extra Note: Please donate to any Japan relief Fund you can find. That is all. _

**WipEout DAWN**

"_No Chance to Lose"_

**LAP 24 of 40**

**1. ICARAS**

**2. GHOST ORIGINAL**

**3. BELKAN-G**

**4. WAR TALON**

**5. NEO-LILIM**

**6. BERKUT UNITED**

**7. LHOTUS-AKKAN**

**8. SATTAHRI**

**9. SHISHIGAMI YOMA**

**10. CISCA FOUNDATION**

Daisy was badly damaged. And the previously-passed Sattahri knew it. With bloodthirsty abandon, the mobility geared ship knifed through the turns and closed in behind the wounded larger craft.

'D-dammit! Give me a chance!' Milli spat, stealing a glance at the rear camera for a second; showing the Sattahri inching closer and closer. The smaller ships' hull was slightly dented from the crash earlier, but as far as Milli could tell, its performance was totally unaffected. She could almost see the sly grin of its pilot as the ship came nearly nose to nose with her own.

_'You can't let him pass you just yet. If you pit when he's ahead, you won't be able to catch up in time. Try and stall him somehow, Mil. It's our only chance!' _Yuno yelled over her helmet radio.

Milli grunted in response, too busy concentrating on keeping Daisy on the track. The missile hit from before had fried many of its systems, including the left stabilisers. This meant that Milli had to continuously fight against Daisy's sudden penchant for veering left of its own free will. Her ship's handling overall had also plummeted to barely tolerable levels, and considering how badly it handled even in prime condition...

Still, she did everything in her power to keep surging forward, ignoring the various warnings her HUD bleeped at her obnoxiously.

The Sattahri continued hounding the Lhotus-Akkan without pause, firing off various weapons at every opportunity. It was part luck on Milli's behalf that none of it connected, and the rest on the rival pilots awful aim.

The ship showed obvious signs of frustration now. If it couldn't hit the Lhotus-Akkan at range, it would just swoop in point blank.

_'He's tail-zoning!' _

'Ugh.'

_'You know what to do.' _

Sattahri acquired a rocket pick-up just then, making a devilish smile crawl over the pilot's face. With wicked precision, he accelerated and came closer and closer to the damaged craft right in front of him. Two more turns and he'd have that ugly ship on the straight, just begging to be ripped apart.

The opportunity came, and the pilot started squeezing the trigger on his flight stick.

A crushing impact followed, but one the Sattahri did not see coming.

Just as it was about to fire the rocket barrage at the Housebreaking's back, the huge ship suddenly decelerated dramatically.

The Sattahri had no time to slow itself down. With a totally one sided crush, the crafts nose just crumpled like paper into the back of the Lhotus, _catapulting _the ship forward over the straight!

The pilot screamed as his ships now useless stabilisers could do nothing to right the mass inertia. It hit a left hand turn at a bad angle, lifted up a raise and barrel-rolled itself into a bright yellow holoboard; shattering the Piranha logo apart.

_'That's it! Time for a booster!' _

Milli gagged a bit before she answered.

'Wugh...allright. That hit almost blacked me out...'

She steered Daisy deftly, coming up just before Yuno's pit craft above. Milli wondered to herself for a second how she would fare at his rate. Laps were trickling away faster and faster. And the ships ahead were far from amateurs. 5th maybe 4th place if she kept her act together. And this pit would slow her down...

'Yuno! Forget the hull regen gel! Give me a 20% charge to forward shields and the rest to thrusters 1 to 4!'

_'Mil, that's a bit much. You'll be flying a kite if I don't weigh Daisy down with the regen gel.' _

'Exactly. I want her to fly.'

_'You mean...?' _

Milli didn't elaborate, she just swerved underneath the Pit Craft and slowed down a fraction as it attached its various parts and omni-hoses to her ship. Because of her request, she didn't even have to stop as Yuno went to work. Normal pitting required a five and a half second standstill to properly replenisha ship. Daisy went through at two without stopping.

CHNK!

Yuno's Pit Craft disengaged just before the no-fly zone, and Daisy zoomed ahead with renewed purpose.

Milli knew what to do now. Daisy was handling even worse than before, but more importantly she was _faster. _With barely any shielding and much of its hull chipped away, the Lhotus-Akkan was hell on hover drives. One bad crash, one bad weapon hit and she'd fall to pieces.

And Milli was terrified. With the rate her heart was beating, the sweat clamming up her forehead under her helmet, she wondered how she was still conscious, let alone flying a ship at such insane speeds.

With this fear came a startling clarity to her. She'd always been scared to death in previous races, but unlike back then, it didn't cloud her mind with self-doubt.

It wasn't about winning the race anymore. It was about showing herself, showing everybody what could happen when a quiet girl like her just _snapped _on the track.

Lost in these thoughts, Milli just casually passed the V-shaped Berkut United with ease by flying over it upside down.

The pilot of the ship just watched with bugged out eyes as she flew overhead. His shock was as much her own. Milli couldn't even tell what kind of expression she had at the moment.

Berkut United's surprise was so severe, that when the pilot lowered his head back to the track, a sharp turn loomed out of nowhere. He was going too fast to negotiate it properly, so he swore up a storm as his ship clanged off the titanium guardrails and righted itself with both airbrakes, dramatically losing speed.

By the time it picked up the pace, the Lhotus-Akkan was already gone tomorrow.

_'Payback, Jerk! You're doing awesome, Mil!' _

Milli's hysteria died down a little at Yuno's encouraging words. She smiled a bit and focused even harder.

**LAP 31 of 40 **

While the previous laps had some surprising twists, this sole one turned the whole race on its head.

Many things happened all at once. The Shishigami and the Cisca, both furious at their misfortune and bringing up the rear, took their frustrations out on each other. They'd locked horns at one point, each driving to force one another into opposite walls. Their bad luck only got worse when they activated Plasma Shields at the same time. Shields are meant to ward off weapons and collisions, not other shields. What this resulted in was both honeycomb walls of energy warping _into themselves _like a shockwave before blasting apart in a rainbow coloured plasma display that completely fried the systems of both ships. Without power, they were nothing more than flying hunks of metal, and so they unceremoniously dropped to the ground and screeched to a pathetic stop.

The Neo-Lilim, tailing behind War Talon and Belkan-G who were unfairly racing as a team, decided to try his hand at passing them both.

They'd have nothing of it.

Just as the Lilim tried to swoop past, the military-grade ships cut in on both sides and viciously viced the fragile ship between them. A three-way struggle ensued as the mess of AG technology roared across the track as one. The cluster smashed against the walls again and again, all the pilots too stubborn to break free.

Not too far ahead, Ghost-Original was racing easy, but thought it best to make it even easier by deploying a Thermite Bomb at the peak of a narrow turn.

It was carnage.

The only one to even notice the bomb was Lilim's pilot. But with nowhere to go, he could only gesture wildly to the pilots blocking him, who only took it as a feeble attempt for truce.

_Three _ships collided into the explosive at top speed, instantly blasting them apart in different directions. War Talon and Belkan-G were effortlessly swept off the track; their respective pilots screaming hysterically.

Neo-Lilim was destroyed on the mark, now a burned out husk scraping against the wall. SOS drones were dispersed quickly, scooping the Lilim's pilot core off the track and catching the other two ships before they crashed into any adjacent buildings. Due to the heavy damage on the craft however, the drones followed their programming and whisked them away back to the pits as both pilots swore up a storm.

At Lap 39, the ladder told a very different story:

**1. ICARAS**

**2. GHOST ORIGINAL**

**3. LHOTUS-AKKAN**

**4. BERKUT UNITED**

**5. BELKAN-G**

**6. WAR TALON**

**DNF. NEO-LILIM**

**DNF. SATTAHRI**

**DNF. SHISHIGAMI YOMA**

**DNF. CISCA FOUNDATION**

_'This race is INSANE!' _

'Yeah.' Milli responded quietly. Her heart wasn't beating out of her chest anymore. Why was she so calm now? She felt so...tired.

_'It's all you, Mil and no one else's. As far as I'm concerned this is a victory for us.' _

'Hm.'

_'...You feeling okay? You life signs are kinda weird.' _

'I dunno.'

_'Well, the race is nearly over. Don't strain yourself.' _

'Sure, Yuno. Get some soda ready.'

_'See you soon!' _

**LAP 40 of 40**

Just speaking was exhausting. Milli wondered absently what would happen if she just closed her eyes for a moment. Just for a moment.

But no, there was one last thing she wanted to try. Milli hated making Yuno worry, so she felt a little bad for keeping something like this from her.

Whatever. Milli was going to try it. Something only two Teams before her had tried but countless others had failed...

And now was her chance. The Speed Boost she'd been saving up had prevented her using any other items, but it was far more important.

_C'mon, let this work..._

The wrecked and battered Lhotus-Akkan surged onward, coming up to the crest of a steep climb...

_Sorry, Yuno. I just want to win. Just this once. That's all I'll ever need. _

Milli engaged the boost, instantly being squashed back into her seat with overwhelming acceleration. Daisy hit the climb and _soared _upwards off the track, making those in the crowded stands who had been following her progress gasp collectively in shock.

_Now...left, right, LEFT! _

Lhotus-Akkan rolled, passing cleanly through a hologram display arch far above the track, bypassing several turns and corners. It continued flying, seemingly losing no altitude...until gravity took its course and dropped the heavy machine downwards at a savage angle.

Icaras, who had for the entire race being clear of any opposition, did a double-take when a barely held together AG craft landed brutally next to him; shooting shrapnel on impact that pinged off its duraglass canopy.

_'MIL! You've LOST IT!' _

They were on the final straight. Pristine Icaras and ravaged Lhotus. The finish line was right there...

…...

Lhotus-Akkan dipped downwards into the track nose first, slicing into the floor. Total power failure. Stabilisers destroyed. Shields depleted. But still it powered forward with blind abandon. Icaras recovered from the initial shock and went full power towards the finish line.

_'MIL! MIL, NO! NO, NO, NO!' _

_Sorry, Yuno_

Her ship was ripped apart. She'd been going too fast for even a ship with full shields to handle. Colours and screaming folded together in a twisting mass as the entire world around her spun uncontrollably.

Impact. More painful than anything she'd ever felt. A deep piercing agony stabbed at her chest. No time to think. No time for inner revelations. Just unbearable hurt. Burning white filled her vision-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_Did I Win...?_


	5. Live Fast

**WipEout Dawn**

"_Live Fast..."_

'Goddammit...! Dammit, dammit, _dammit!'_

Yuno couldn't stop screaming. Stuff like this didn't happen! It wasn't supposed to happen! How? What in the _hell_ was wrong with the world?

And the tears...they just wouldn't stop. When was the last time she had even cried? It was like all the misery that could've affected her over a lifetime rolled into one torturous moment in time.

She kept yelling and screaming from her kneeling position on the floor, burying her face so hard into her trembling hands that it pressed painfully into her skull.

'Mil...oh, Mil...what the _fuck!' _

That stupid medical officer offered some worthless condolences. What a bloody jerk! How the hell could he help, after giving her the absolute worst news she could ever hear?

'SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!'

Yuno didn't even look up at him. She couldn't even stand, let alone breathe amidst her heaving cries. What kind of expression did he have? Pity? Disgust? Good god, it didn't even matter. She just didn't care.

Someone's hands gently took hold of her shoulders. She recoiled at the contact but they wouldn't let go. Yuno wanted to beat the hell out of the moron stupid enough to try and console her. But just as her fury reached a fever pitch, it plummeted to hopeless despair; wailing uncontrollably in the person's arms.

Lost in time, lost in grief...Yuno Maeda continued to cry.

Her misery rang out through the halls of the Medical Station unabated, heard by all.

=][=

"It's been two weeks since Milli Rem Norfair's death at the Amphiseum. A relatively unknown pilot of an even lesser known AG team. Despite the incognito, her incredible skill and tenacity during the qualifier of the Unlimited League race earned her quite a few new admirers.

Such was the tragedy of the young woman's brief life.

After jumping from the bottom of the ladder to the front in what could only be described as a whirlwind of intensity and super-human ability, Lhotus-Akkan had crossed the finish line in 2nd place only a few milliseconds behind the fastest first-class ship in current AG history, Icaras.

But as cruel fate would have it, Ms Norfair's will to win would exceed what her third generation ship could handle.

A combination of system errors and intolerable g-forces on an unshielded cockpit resulted in the fatal crash that took her life. Emergency Drones were on the scene in seconds but she was declared deceased on site. One must admire the bravery of a fellow pilot who courageously ran across the track on foot to try and help after abandoning his own ship.

Despite on track deaths being the lowest in almost two-hundred years, it still didn't make it any less of a horrifying event when it inevitably occurred.

With no pilot to commander the Neo Monaco based team, what was left of the ship was scrapped and all assets merged into several other businesses. After only a year on the AG Circuit, Lhotus Akkan was disbanded.

The Qualifiers of the Unlimited League are now over and the official opening ceremonies under way. Even though marred by the recent tragedy, it is already the highest grossing racing event in human history.

Stay tuned for the live broadcast and all extra coverage on AGHTV and every other channel."

=][=

The sun was shining bright and unhindered by clouds. Such beautiful weather was a disgrace. Why not rain or snow or something sad and poetic? The gorgeous green synthetic meadow on the roof of a public skyscraper was just too damn wonderful.

Yuno wondered this as she stood motionless in front of her best friend's grave.

**Million Rem Norfair**

_Lost her life doing what she loved_

"_Don't call me unlucky!" _

Two months had passed. Two worthless months and all Yuno could do was visit her grave; a cloudy gold monolith housing her genetic data, impervious to weather effects and the passing of time. Milli's family had been quite rich so they'd spared no expense in immortalising their youngest daughter. Where'd this financial backing been when Milli was still alive?

She hadn't talked of her family much. It'd always been a difficult topic. Yuno wasn't the nosy type anyway.

Her family. How they'd stare Yuno down at the funeral proceedings; her being an indirect cause of Milli's death. She admitted it though, but was in no way sorry for supporting Milli in her AG endeavours+.

There'd been some other people there too, some Executives of the Unlimited League, a few unfamiliar faces...

And one pilot.

He'd said his name was Lars Richtofen. That he'd spoke to Milli just once before that race. Pilot of Ghost Original. Lars had been the one to run out onto the track to try and help.

Yuno didn't ask him why. There was no need to.

Lars would visit her grave too on occasion. Once, he'd even accompanied her, but it'd been far too awkward for both of them. They didn't know each other in the slightest. And Lars seemed incredibly distant. So much so that he might merge with a crowd of people and disappear forever. Immune to judgement and perception, Lars really was a Ghost. Heck, Yuno could barely remember his face; always hidden under that drab grey hat of his...

There weren't any gentle gusts of wind to make the phony grass around the monolith dance. Just the subtle mechanic hum of Inandantia City, and the occasional whine of AG engines passing below.

How long had she been standing there? Hours? What did it matter...

Yuno plopped to the ground and lay back on the grass, staring into nothing but blue sky to the edges of her vision. Loose blades tickled her neck and hair.

She stopped thinking about anything else then. And just watched the sky dim to warm tangerine and give way to stars.

"_Don't call me unlucky!" _


End file.
